92 Decision Citation: BVA 92-28785
Y92
BOARD OF VETERANS' APPEALS
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20420
DOCKET NO. 92-13 279 ) DATE
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THE ISSUE
Entitlement to service connection for residuals of a left
knee injury.
REPRESENTATION
Appellant represented by: Department of Veterans Affairs,
Virginia
ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD
Robert E. P. Jones, Associate Counsel
INTRODUCTION
The veteran served on active duty from January 1943 to
January 1946. This matter came before the Board of
Veterans' Appeals (hereinafter the Board) on appeal from a
July 1991 rating decision by the Roanoke, Virginia, Regional
Office (RO). The notice of disagreement was received in
January 1992 and a statement of the case was issued in March
1992. A substantive appeal was received in April 1992. The
appeal was docketed at the Board in August 1992. The
veteran has been represented throughout his appeal by the
Virginia Department of Veterans Affairs and this
organization presented additional written argument on behalf
of the veteran in May 1992.
CONTENTIONS OF APPELLANT ON APPEAL
The veteran contends that he injured his left knee in
service and that his left knee has caused him chronic pain,
instability, and loss of motion since discharge from service.
DECISION OF THE BOARD
For the reasons and bases hereinafter set forth, it is the
decision of the Board that entitlement to service connection
for a left knee disability is warranted.
FINDINGS OF FACT
1. All relevant evidence necessary for an equitable
disposition of this appeal has been obtained.
2. A chronic left knee disability was demonstrated during
service.
CONCLUSION OF LAW
A left knee disability was incurred in service. 38 U.S.C.A.
§§ 1110, 5107 (West 1991); 38 C.F.R. § 3.301, 3.303 (1991).
REASON AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSION
The veteran filed a claim for service connection for a left
knee disability in January 1991. The veteran states that he
injured his left knee in 1945 when he jumped off his radar
unit somewhere in France. The veteran's induction physical
examination does not note any knee problems. The veteran's
service medical records, received in 1947 pursuant to a
claim for dental treatment, do not contain any treatment
records involving the left knee. The veteran's physical
examination on discharge does note a left knee injury. The
discharge examination notes left knee history of twisting,
collateral ligaments weak with secondary arthralgia,
incurred in military service.
The RO wrote to the veteran requesting statements or
treatment records from physicians who had treated his knee
since discharge from service. The veteran wrote that the
physician who treated his knee, W. H. Williams, M.D., was
deceased and that his treatment records were unavailable.
The veteran further stated that the records from the
physician who treated him next, Dr. DeBol, had been
misplaced and were unavailable as well.
The veteran received a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
knee examination in April 1991. The veteran complained that
his left knee twisted on him around four times a year. He
stated that this occurred suddenly and that his knee would
swell and become sore. The VA physician noted a marked
leftward limp when the veteran walked on his toes and a
right limp when the veteran walked on his heels. The
veteran's ability to flex and extend his left knee was
limited as compared to his right knee. X-rays of the
veteran's left knee revealed joint space at the lateral
aspect diminishing, lipping of the articular surfaces
including the patella, deformity of the tibial tubercles
from previous injuries of the crucial ligaments, a few small
loose bodies within the anterior and posterior aspect of the
joint, and a large chondroma within the popliteal fossa. No
fluid was within the joint. Atherosclerotic changes of the
vascular channels within the soft tissues at the posterior
aspect of the left knee were noted. The impression of the
radiologist was hypertrophic osteoarthropathy and loose
bodies and chondroma of the left knee. The VA physician
diagnosed history of left knee injury with evidence of
decreased range of motion with ankylosis, effusion, and
moderate instability.
The veteran submitted three lay statements in October 1991.
In one of these statements the veteran's wife stated that
she had married the veteran while he was in service, that he
had come out of service with an injured knee, and that it
had continued to "fly out of place" since the veteran's
discharge from service. A former co-worker of the veteran
stated that he had worked with the veteran for several
years. He stated that he had been with the veteran several
times when the veteran's knee popped out. He stated that he
helped the veteran on these occasions and that the veteran
was in pain and could hardly walk for days after these
occurrences. In a third statement, Thomas A. Simpkins
stated that he had known the veteran for 41 years and that
during that time he had often seen the veteran limping when
his knee came out of joint. He stated that he saw that it
was very painful to the veteran and that it would
incapacitate him for a time. He further stated that he
noted that the veteran would limp and would be in pain for
several days afterward.
The service records reveal that the veteran injured his left
knee during service. Some disability was shown on discharge
from service. While treatment records to show chronicity
after service are unavailable, the statements of observable
symptoms made by his family and others establish a
connection between the veteran's current symptoms and his
inservice injury. These statements provide the necessary
connection to service and chronicity after service which is
otherwise undocumented. 38 C.F.R. §§ 303. Although the
collateral ligaments rather than the cruciate ligaments were
cited on the discharge examination report, the
complaints and findings on the April 1991 examination are
compatiable with a ligamentous type of injury which
reportedly occurred during service. Service connection for
residuals of a left knee injury is warranted. All doubt has
been resolved in favor of the veteran. 38 U.S.C.A. § 5107.
ORDER
Entitlement to service connection for residuals of a left
knee injury is granted.
BOARD OF VETERANS' APPEALS
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20420
*
CHARLES E. HOGEBOOM
WAYNE M. BRAEUER
*38 U.S.C.A. § 7102(a)(2)(A) (West 1991) permits a Board of
Veterans' Appeals Section, upon direction of the Chairman of
the Board, to proceed with the transaction of business
without awaiting assignment of an additional Member to the
Section when the Section is composed of fewer than three
Members due to absence of a Member, vacancy on the Board or
inability of the Member assigned to the Section to serve on
CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE
the panel. The Chairman has directed that the Section
proceed with the transaction of business, including the
issuance of decisions, without awaiting the assignment of a
third Member.
NOTICE OF APPELLATE RIGHTS: Under 38 U.S.C.A. § 7266 (West
1991), a decision of the Board of Veterans' Appeals granting
less than the complete benefit, or benefits, sought on
appeal is appealable to the United States Court of Veterans
Appeals within 120 days from the date of mailing of notice
of the decision, provided that a Notice of Disagreement
concerning an issue which was before the Board was filed
with the agency of original jurisdiction on or after
November 18, 1988. Veterans' Judicial Review Act, Pub. L.
No. 100-687, § 402 (1988). The date which appears on the
face of this decision constitutes the date of mailing and
the copy of this decision which you have received is your
notice of the action taken on your appeal by the Board of
Veterans' Appeals.